Tag: Healthcare

How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Healthcare

For the past decade, we’ve experienced an exponential increase in the rate at which technology advances. Leading the charge are steady advances in how Big Data is harnessed to improve our personal and professional lives. Big Data, in all its many facets, is the quintessential component of data science. And, data science powers smart machines and applications the world over. Through Artificial Intelligence, computers are trained to emulate two human senses – vision (image recognition and processing), and listening (speech engines). Machine learning and natural language processing enable computers to carry out tasks just as the brain helps humans get things done. The most prominent of these algorithms is the Neural Network – very similar to the network of neurons found in the human brain.

Many industry practitioners are already harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence, most notably in the healthcare industry. A U.S. News article reported that “Just six months after El Camino Hospital in Silicon Valley implemented artificial intelligence, the rate at which patients suffered dangerous falls dropped by 39 percent.” (I)

Here are some other examples of how the healthcare industry is leveraging AI:

Advanced processing and assistance:

From X-rays, data capture, CT scans, MRI’s and more, AI is creating sweeping change in the proficiency with which healthcare professionals can manage the patient relationship. Through its deep analytic capabilities, AI surfaces more sophisticated treatment options. For example, one does not have to wait for the radiologist to generate a report, and then take it to the doctor for review. Instead, an AI-enabled system analyzes the X-Ray and immediately captures vital information, automatically kicks out reports, and then sends alerts to the doctor within a matter of seconds. Moreover, AI can detect the onset of tumors, osteoporosis, arthritis, and other crippling diseases weeks before any visible signs occur.

Cardiology is another discipline in which AI is helping save lives with early detection of disease such as heart failure. The system identifies the risk and suggests plans to help individuals lead a healthy life.

AI-powered virtual assistance

Virtual Assistants can provide instant answers to queries. Patients can ask questions directly related to a drug, report information, and receive reminders. The virtual assistant can provide a vast amount of data in a matter of seconds.

Physicians can also benefit from virtual assistants because it tracks and follows up on patient records to ensure the best care. While capturing essential information, AI suggests vital parameters to which physicians should adhere.

For example, a patient might not know that he/she is allergic to a medication, but while prescribing a drug, the system alerts the doctor to check for medication allergies thereby making healthcare more accurate at the outset. Similarly, smart suggestions for HPI or histories are also available to the doctor on the fly while charting.

Research and diagnosis

Developing medicines and drugs through clinical trials take many years and can cost a fortune. AI is already speeding up the process and doing it cost effectively. The identification of a molecular structure of drugs that can cure a targeted disease, and then successfully testing it on a set of subjects is where AI can reduce the number of iterations drastically.

During a recent Ebola epidemic, an AI-based program suggested two medications that could minimize the effects of Ebola within 24 hours. Before AI, the process would have taken months, or in some cases years. In addition, Stanford University has researched and developed an algorithm that can diagnose skin cancer faster.

The World Health Organization reports that by 2020, the prevalence of chronic disease is expected to rise by 57% and this makes predictive medication crucial. NLP-based programs are being used to predict probable epidemic spread based on historical events and geographical conditions that change rapidly.

Managing and recording medical data

There are tons of healthcare records, mainly the patient records stored for analyses and future treatments. Artificial Intelligence is one of the most widely used programs for data management where it can save, format, collect and trace data to provide faster and consistent access to doctors or health institutions. Because of the ability to analyze the data, AI can also make the diagnosis faster, saving money and time. AI can help improve medical diagnosis, provide immediate support via healthcare bots, monitor health-related information, deliver digital consultation, and much more. Frost & Sullivan reports that AI has the potential to improve outcomes by 30- 40% and reduce the cost of treatment by as much as 50%. (II) However, along with its benefits, AI brings risks and challenges prompting healthcare providers to continuously monitor its use.

Optimizing revenue

New use cases include helping healthcare providers increase revenue for services provided by fixing leaks, and making intelligent suggestions for attaining maximum income.

New applications for AI in the making:

>Apps like Babylon in the UK use AI to give medical consultation based on personal medical history and common medical knowledge. Users report their symptoms into the app, which uses speech recognition to compare against a database of illnesses. Babylon then offers a recommended action, taking the user’s medical history into account.

>Genetics and genomics look for mutations and links to disease from the information in DNA. With the help of AI, body scans can spot cancer and vascular diseases early and predict the health issues people might face based on their genetics. The startup Sense.ly has developed Molly, a digital nurse to help people monitor patient conditions and follow up with treatments, between doctor visits. The program uses machine learning to support patients and specializes in chronic illnesses.

>In 2016, Boston Children’s Hospital developed an app for Amazon Alexa that gives basic health information and advice for parents of ill children. The app answers questions about medications and whether symptoms require a doctors’ visit.

>The National Institutes of Health have created the AiCure app to monitor the use of medication by a patient. A smartphone’s webcam is AI-enabled to autonomously confirm that patients are taking their medication, and it helps them manage their condition better. The most common users of this app tend to be people with serious medical conditions, patients who struggle to follow a doctor’s advice, along with clinical trial participants.

According to a 2016 report from CB Insights, about 86% of healthcare provider organizations, life science companies, and technology vendors to healthcare are using artificial intelligence technology. By 2020, these organizations will spend an average of $54 million on artificial intelligence projects. (IV) The possibilities for cognitive computing are endless. How are you using AI or planning to use it?

Enabling the Collaborative Healthcare Workforce

The modern workforce, in general, is highly collaborative, nimble, and connected. For the healthcare industry in which laws such as the HITECH Act and HIPPA privacy and security rules are paramount, the path to technological advancement is often met with skepticism. Nevertheless, 40% of U.S. healthcare providers’ IT budgets are increasing, according to IDC. Leading healthcare organizations are realizing lower costs and increased productivity in the cloud, all while meeting stringent compliance requirements with Microsoft Office 365. Microsoft Office 365 offers a full set of cloud-based tools for Web, mobile, tablet and desktop. It keeps the workforce connected and productive with a host of social apps like Yammer, SharePoint, Delve Artificial Intelligence, Skype, and Exchange for uninterrupted email.

According to Gartner, 80% of Fortune 500 and 65% of Fortune 1000 clients have or will migrate to Office 365. That being said, pockets of doubt remain regarding the perceived vulnerabilities of cloud-based applications. As a leader in enterprise collaboration software, more than 100 million people use Office 365 commercially every month. Check out these examples of healthcare providers that have already migrated to Office 365. In this post, we discuss five common misconceptions regarding cloud applications and why a move to Office 365 is well worth considering.

Misconception #1: Moving workforce collaboration tools to the cloud is not secure enough for the healthcare industry. We blame a lack of knowledge for this, as well as some early-adoption mishaps. Some healthcare organizations are still holding on to the false sense of security that on premise systems provide when in fact many of them could be hacked without their knowledge. “It is becoming increasingly clear that your on-premises systems are not inherently more secure than they would be in the cloud,” says Mark Anderson, founder of the INVNT/IP Global Consortium, a group of governments and security experts helping to solve the increasing cyber threat. Microsoft’s advanced security infrastructure “Assumes Breach” which means it is always working to prevent attacks against its cloud services. To learn more about Microsoft’s services related to HIPAA and HITECH visit the Office 365 Trust Center, or read the white paper Addressing HIPAA Security and Privacy Requirements in the Microsoft Cloud.

Misconception #2: You cannot partially migrate to the cloud. The fact is that almost all organizations start their cloud journeys with partial migrations. Granted not all applications are suitable, however, migrating applications in cycles is a prudent option. The hybrid option offers a consistent platform that spans data centers and cloud to simplify IT and deliver apps and information to dispersed workers across devices. A hybrid option also allows you to control the computing power and capabilities that your business demands at scale and without wasting onsite technology investments. Most implementations start with a hybrid approach, moving single applications such as Exchange and OneDrive to the cloud while developing the long-term plan.

Misconception #3: Cloud costs rise over time. Many companies think that if they buy hardware and a perpetual license for software, it will cost less long-term, as there is no need for license renewal and they can take advantage of tax breaks like depreciation. The fact is that maintaining and upgrading applications on premise costs more in the long run. This argument has been thoroughly analyzed in this article.

Misconception #4: Mobile Device Management (MDM/EMM) can be expensive and risky from a security standpoint. The proliferation of BYOD raises concerns in a cloud environment, as is the security of application data. If an employee uses his/her device to exchange patient healthcare information, let’s say via email or document sharing, there must be stringent security measures for wiping that data clean from the device should an employee move on. This process is even more critical when a company’s data is hosted in a public cloud.

The fact is that Microsoft Office 365 offers built-in apps to manage the BYOD conundrum. Administrators can perform all of the significant functions without additional licensing via the security and compliance center, or they can use Microsoft Intune which enables flexible device and application management so employees can work with the devices and apps they prefer while protecting company information. Both options allow administrators to manage these tasks remotely for employees and for customers.

Misconception #5: Frequent updates of software can break mission-critical applications. With the advancement of microservice architecture, a method of developing software applications as a suite of independently deployable services, DevOps, and Microsoft’s 99% uptime ensures the least impact to your business when upgrades occur. Also, there’s no need to rewrite APIs after an update. Microsoft is collaborating with leading software vendors to ensure a smooth transition to Office 365. It is also minimizing compatibility issues by providing best practices for update management and development.

Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud-based collaboration, communication, and social intelligence powerhouse for the healthcare workforce. Microsoft partnered with Forrester to understand the total economic impact of implementing Office 365 in one health care organization, Advocate Healthcare. The result was an estimated saving of $53.8 million due to increased knowledge worker productivity. Sutter Health also provided a detailed video example.

As a certified Microsoft Gold Partner, ISM, Inc. can help you get up and running on Office 365 with little to no business interruption. As a trusted IT partner to hundreds of healthcare organizations, we’re always ready to help you navigate the journey including strategy, implementation, and maintenance.